Weekend TV: The Musketeers, Call the Midwife and Mr Selfridge

This weekend saw Take Me Out on Saturday and Dancing on Ice on Sunday as usual, but it was the return of Mr. Selfridge and Call the Midwife and the BBC’s new drama The Musketeers which made this weekend’s television quite different.

The Musketeers

The first episode of this new BBC drama aired on Sunday night after weeks of trailers leading up to it. Based on The Three Musketeers, the BBC’s adaption is slick and confident, but it will have to be in order to fill that Sherlock-sized gap which the BBC now have. The first episode opened with a young D’Artagnan and his father making their way to Paris, only to be attacked by a man claiming to be ‘Athos of the Musketeers’, who kills D’Artganan’s father. Of course he seeks revenge, and from there queue an hour of suspense, mystery, lies and deceit.

The Musketeers was an enjoyable hour of men fighting each other and women staring at the men with wide eyes as they fought. It may not be a serious drama, but it was fun and light to watch with some comedic moments thrown in. The accents were a bit dubious, some sounding more Yorkshire than French. But The Musketeers is certainly Sunday evening TV to appeal to those who miss the days of Merlin and Robin Hood.

Call the Midwife

Who would have thought that a programme dedicated to midwives would have been such a hit on television? Probably no one. The airing of the third series took us back to 1950s England and opened up with a sick baby without a clear diagnosis, but there were also character developments for some of the midwives. Chummy realised that there was much more to motherhood when she was finally given a chance to assist in a birth. Jenny looked much more dominating in comparison to normal and Sister Monica shined through with her knowledge on babies.

Call the Midwife may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the show is not just comic relief for those who have stuck through three series. There are sad moments, but to counteract that there are heart warming moments as you watch the two parents look after their sick baby, who was finally diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. The first episode was effective with giving character developments and providing a cosy Sunday night of television, and with that there is no wonder why Call the Midwife is still so popular.

Mr Selfridge

Mr Selfridge challenged BBC’s The Musketeers for viewers this week, with the ITV drama promising a party for the fifth anniversary of the Selfridge’s London department store. The First World War is looming as the year approached 1914, four years after the first series aired. The fifth anniversary shows how Selfridge’s department store has grown in time, becoming the tourist attraction which it is today. However, it wasn’t all fun and games in the programme as we saw the entrepreneur face marriage issues and business worries.

The marital problems showed the flaws of Harry Selfridge. His affair with Ellen in series one is causing his wife Rose to spend as much time as she can away from him in Chicago. Their marriage is still publicly strong, but it is obviously not destined to stay that way as Rose tells her husband to let go of any romantic feelings he has for her.

The return of this popular department store show contains an excellent cast of characters, including former Coronation Street star Katherine Kelly, but there are new characters in the form of Delphine Day who may be out to ruin Rose; only time will tell. Mr Selfridge is a glamorous programme which deals with the influential people of the department store, but also with the everyday workers. It has to be said that Mr Selfridge is another ITV hit which has the potential to be around for many more series.